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Cooking On Deadline: Silky leek soup

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Kingston home burns, three pets die after ‘cooking incident’

<p>Picture this: It&#8217;s Tuesday evening, about 8:45, when Gloria tells me, &#8220;Daniel I started labor.&#8221;</p><p>I was like, &#8220;You are kidding me!&#8221; I was excited to go to bed early and get a good night&#8217;s rest. I had this idea that I would like to be rested up when our brand-new bundle arrives. But guess what: God had a better idea.</p><p>Soon the house was full of excitement. We told the children the way it looks we would probably have our baby the next day some time. So we called &#8220;Mommy and Dawdy&#8221; (Grandma and Grandpa), and they came to pick up the children. After the children left, everything was quiet. Gloria and I just looked at each other with expressions that said, &#8220;Now what do we do?&#8221;</p><p>We called our midwife and told her of our excitement, but to our dismay, she told us, &#8220;I have somebody on call already.&#8221;</p><p>We thought, &#8220;God, how far are you going to stretch us?&#8221; We discussed some different options. The midwife suggested we could do it ourselves. Wow, that felt like a long stretch.</p><p>We prayed about it and felt God told us he was going to be the third person in the room, so we jumped on the boat to deliver by ourselves. By this time it was about 11 p.m. Soon Gloria told me she thought the baby would be here soon.</p><p>I stayed by Gloria&#8217;s bedside through 99 percent of the time. Earlier that evening, Gloria said she was praying for a Valentine&#8217;s baby (that was before she started labor). I thought &#8220;Wow, hopefully we will have the baby after midnight.&#8221;</p><p>Gloria informed me that it would be a close race, and I told Gloria that she prayed just a bit early. Anyway, our bundle arrived 3 1/2 hours after labor started. What a dream come true on Valentine&#8217;s Day at 12:14 a.m.</p><p>Elijah Courage was welcomed with love, weighing 8 pounds and 3 ounces. Gloria is recovering really well, and she also did an amazing job in labor and delivery. She sure is a super mother; we are all doing really well. Julia, Austin, Jesse and Rayni are absolutely in awe of their new brother.</p><p>I am sure Gloria will keep you informed about how everyone is doing. Friends are helping us on every side. We were amazed to see our 84-year-old neighbor coming this evening with a really good caserole called &#8220;shepherd&#8217;s pie&#8221; and also some cookies. God bless everyone helping us and to all of you who have been praying for us. I will share the sheperd&#8217;s pie recipe with you as I am sure you will like it.</p><p><strong>First step</strong></p><p>2 pounds hamburger</p><p>1 1/2 teaspoons salt</p><p>3/4 cup oatmeal</p><p>1/3 teaspoon onion salt</p><p>1 egg</p><p>1 cup milk</p><p>1/3 teaspoon pepper</p><p><strong>Second step</strong></p><p>2 ounces cream cheese</p><p>1/3 cup sour cream</p><p>1/4 stick butter</p><p>1/3 teaspoon onion salt</p><p>1 1/2 teaspoons salt</p><p>Enough milk to make creamy</p><p>Mix together and bake in a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. Bake for 45 minutes at 350. Then spread 1 can cream of mushroom soup on top. Next, cook 2 quarts peeled and cut up potatoes. When soft, pour off water; mash the potatoes and add &#8220;second step&#8221; ingredients. Spread second step ingredients over mushroom soup; top with slices of Velveeta cheese. Return to oven until heated through.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Gloria Yoder</p><p>The Amish Cook</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Readers with culinary or cultural questions or stories can write Gloria directly at Gloria Yoder, 10568 E. 350th Ave., Flat Rock, IL 62427-2019. To see more on the Amish, go to www.amish365.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Amish Cook: New addition to the family arrives on Valentine’s Day